Daley says lax trash haulers will be disciplined

City trash haulers who were caught loafing, drinking and lunching on the taxpayers' dime will face punishment and possibly dismissal, Mayor Richard Daley said Thursday.

"We've taken the necessary steps to identify these individuals," Daley said. "We're going to discipline and fire them -- that's what we're trying to do."

The mayor reacted a day after Inspector General David Hoffman issued a report concluding that hundreds of haulers worked an average of six hours a day, rather than the eight required to earn their $64,000-a-year salaries. Investigators spied on garbage workers in 10 wards. The report blamed the problem mainly on ward supervisors.

"These are great jobs, and no one should be sleeping, loafing, drinking, quitting early or anything else," Daley said. He added that Hoffman had yet to provide the names of workers seen shirking duties or suggest punishments.

Despite the lousy report, Daley said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Picardi "has done a good job." The mayor also denied union allegations that Hoffman issued the report to help Daley's case for layoffs.

Daley's comments came at a news conference in Englewood where he called on state lawmakers to increase and make permanent tax breaks designed to soften the blow of rising property taxes.

The mayor and aldermen raised city property taxes last year by a record $86 million -- an increase that will show up on next year's bills. Daley said the hike was "needed."